Knockdown display panel



Aug. 5, 1958 P. E. FREEMAN 2,846,080

KNOCKDOWN DISPLAY PANEL 2 Sheets-Sheet'l Filed April l2, 1955 v...... 'lll/ifi?! mvENToR ATTORNEY Aug. 5, 1958 P. E. FREEMAN 2,846,080

KNOCKDOWN DISPLAY PANEL Filed April 12, 1955 2 shets-shef 2 ATTORNEY United States Pate-nt KNOCKDOWN DISPLAY PANEL Paul E. Freeman, Tallahassee, Fla. Application April 12, 1955, Serial No. 500,833

3 Claims. (Cl. 211148) A. further and importantv object `of the invention is to.

providesucha knockdown display stand including, a. specific typey bracket, which bracket isl capable of being.

mounted on the various intermediate cross members of the end panels to locate the display panels within the frames of the. side panels and at the same time support a shelf. structure extending between the respective side sections.

A further object of the inventionv is to provide such a display stand wherein the various parts in assembled conditionv require no extraneous fastening members other than the recited shelf brackets.v

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like numerals are used to indicate similar parts throughout the various views and in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view disclosing a single shelf arrangement;

Fig. 2'is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is4 a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is. a perspective view of the shelf bracket;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical perspective view of the cross'stile' and upper rail of one of the side frames;

. Fig. 6- is a plan-view of an upper section of one of the side panels;

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7 7 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 isa fragmentary sectional view of a further form of the invention and disclosing a cross stile.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the knockdown display device isillustrated as comprising a base portion 6, a top 7 and two side frame sections 8 andl 9. The respective side sections S and 9 are identical'in constructionfand include vertical side frames 10 and 11 and bottom: andtop. cross frames. 12 and 13' and including an intermediate cross section or stile 14; At this time it should be pointed out that in the illustrated frame the side panels are only two sections high but it is to be understood that it` is. within the. scope of the invention to multiply the side sections in height as' desired so-that the same canbemade twosections, three sections; four sections, and in factany desired number of sectionsrequiredfor; any particular displayv installation, it onlybeing necessary that the top, bottom and side frame members be substantially like those disclosed. In other words a side section containing four panels would contain three cross stiles. The bottom and top cross frame sections 12 and 13 are provided respectively with rabbeted and recessed portions 15 and 16, for a purpose later to be described. The center stile or cross members arerabbeted as at 17 and 18 along their opposite sides to provide recesses for the accommodation of various designed panels. Likewise, the inner sides of the respective side frames are recessed or rabbetedv as at 19 for ac-V shelf bracket generally indicated at 20 engages and holdsthe'respective edges of the designed insert panels withinv the side sections without the necessity of a recess such as 15 or 16. f

The bracket generally indicated at 20, which may be made of metal, plastic or other relatively strong material, is shaped to provide a U-shaped portion 21, said portion being capable of and adapted to fit the portionl 22k of the center cross stile which is formed by the recesses 17 and 18. Said bracket is provided with a horizontally projecting ledge 23 extending inwardly from the said U portion which is capable of supporting a shelf 24 when the shelf bracket is set in place between the respective sides of the frame members, said side frame members being spaced apart a distance which will accommodate the shelf 24. The said U-shaped portion 21 includes a web. 21a, and opposed parallel legs 21b extending in the same direction from opposite edges of the web and lips 25- and 26 project upwardly and downwardly from theedges of said legs in spaced parallel relation to said web. The U-shaped portion terminates along its front edge in a shelf stop member 27 which is capable of engaging the front edge of the shelf 24 when the sides and shelf are united. in set-up relation. It. will be seen' thatv the side frame members are provided with panels 28, 29 and 30, all of said panels being of different design and capable of interchangeable association within the respective panel sections of the side members, it being understood that the three design sections shown are purely for purposes of disclosure and that the said sections can carry any desired design contemplateditothereby change and4 alter the appearance of the display stand when desired. It will be noted that the display panel 28is reduced slightly4 in thickness along its top and bottom edges as at 31 for a purpose which will readily appear, that is, to givel a desired play within the recesses 15 and 16 foruse when the panels are being inserted;

When it is desired to mount a. display panel. within. a section of the side panels, it is` only necessaryrv to havev the bracket 20 removedV from the intermediate stilemenb ber. 14 and wheny so removed. the panel such as 28." can'. be slid upwardly whereby its upper'edge will. move within the recess 16 and thereafter its. bottom edge' can. he.z moved to position within the cutout portion or rabbet 17 and when so done the panel 28 will stay in. thisb position. After this is done a similar or dissimilar panel can be' mounted in the next adjacent recess in a similar man-v ner and this can be repeated inthe event'. that the:` side sections contain more than two panels .until all oli the? respective panels have been inserted in place. It: will be noted that itis necessary that. the, upper cross mem.- ber and the lower cross member havethezrecesses. 15; and 16 into which the upper andi lower edges of. there'- spective panels can be inserted to thereby hold them in place, for if these recesses were not provided/.there wouldbe no means of holding the panels inplacebecause it' is contemplated that the shelf. brackets 20 are. not to: be, used adjacent the upper and lower cross members -hut only:- in connection with the intermediate cross stiles. Therefore, after the necessary and desired number of panels are so inserted the shelf brackets are then moved into place on the respective cross stiles so that the U-shaped section 21 of the bracket engages the section 22 of the cross stile and in such position the upper and lower lips 25 and 26 will engage the thinned portions 31 of the respective panels and thereby lock the same in position within the respective panel receiving sections of the sidey members.

When it is desired to knock the display stand down, it is only necessary to lift the shelves free of the shelf brackets and the engaging front piece '27 thereof and thereafter remove the shelf from between the side members. Then, the shelf brackets 20 can be slipped off of the cross stiles which releases the respective design panels for removal by simply pushing the free end inwardly to free the cross stile and thereby enable the edge section which is within the recess or 16 to drop out after which the design panels are free. Thus, it will be seen that the design panels are quickly interchangeable and substituted one for another in various combinations.

-It Ishould be further stated that it is within the concept of the invention to have a plurality of the side sections mounted on double action hinges, and when so mounted lthe various side sections can be swung to various combinations to build up many different combinations to vary the looks of the stand as required or desired.

While the bracket illustrated is shown as having the lower portion thereof including a portion of web 21a, lower leg 21b and lip 26 spot welded or riveted as at 32 to the horizontal shelf supporting ledge 23, it will be readily recognized that the bracket can be -made in one piece and folded to the desired configuration. Likewise, the upper front end of the shelf lbracket is cut down as at 33 to a thickness substantially identical with the thickness of the shelf that is to be supported. lf this were not done that portion of the bracket which were left would interfere with the proper manipulation of the shelf 24.

In Fig. 8 is illustrated a further form of the invention and in which the respective display panels, such as 28 are capable of being interchangeably mounted in the side frame members, without the necessity of a shelf bracket 20 for holding the panels in place adjacent the cross stile. Thus, in this form of the invention the cross stile 14 is rabbeted as at 17 and 18, but further the rrabbets are recessed inwardly as at 34 and 35 whereby, when the ornamental panel 28 is inserted, its upper edge, reduced in thickness at 31 to allow sufhcient room to insert the same within the recess 16 and at the same time allowing its lower edge to be moved inwardly into registry with the recess 35, whereby the panel 28 is moved and positioned into the side frame. It will be seen that in such 4a structure, that the upper and lower edges of the panel are disposed within the recesses 16 and 35 and the same is thus held in position. For removal of the panel it is simply necessary to move the same upwardly to the extent of the recess 16 and then swing the lower edge inwardly until it clears the cross stile and thereafter be lowered out of the frame recess.

fFurther, it will be readily apparent that in the event that more than one of the cross stiles is used in a frame structure, then the spaced stiles 14 will necessarily be made with the respective recesses 34 and 35 disclosed in the form of Fig. 8, otherwise it would be impossible to insert and remove the design panels being positioned between two adjacent cross Stiles 144. Of course, even though cross stiles containing the recesses 34 and 35 are used, the shelf supporting brackets 20 may or may not be used depending on whether or not it is desirable to support a shelf 24.

While the display shelving illustrated includes a bottom 6 and a top 7, it will be readily recognized that these could be removed without disturbing the inventive concept and when such a bottom and top are used, the same are not necessarily xed to the side members but can simply sit on the same, but, of course, it 4will be recognized that the same could be clamped to the side members by many well known type clamps for such a purpose.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment thereof, but it is not intended that the invention be limited to such a disclosure but is capable of considerable variations and modifications, and such variations and modifications Iare intended to be covered by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A knockdown display device, comprising oppositely disposed connected vertical side frame sections including top and bottom cross frames and intermediate stiles and removable panels mounted Within said side frame sections, a shelf supporting bracket mounted on each intermediate stile, said bracket being of generally U-form and including a web, a pair of spaced parallel legs extending in the same direction from opposite edges of the web, and a pair of lips extending in opposite directions from corresponding edges of said legs, said shelf supporting bracket having lips engaging the adjacent edges of the removable panels, a horizontal ledge extending inwardly at right angles to said lips, and a removable shelf mounted on said shelf supporting ledge.

2. A knockdown display shelving, comprising a pair of vertically disposed connected side frame sections including top and bottom cross frames andl intermediate stiles, the top and bottom cross frames of the respective side frame sections having vertical recesses therein, removable panels in each vertically disposed side frame section and each having an edge received in a respective one of said recesses and the opposite edges of said panels engaged with the respective intermediate stile, a U -shaped bracket having legs tted on the stile and lips extending from the legs engaging said opposite edges of said panels and having a ledge intermediate said lips for removably supporting a shelf.

3. A knockdown display shelving, comprising a pair of vertically disposed connected'side'frame sections, each of said frame sections including top and bottom cross frames and an intermediate stile, the top and bottom cross frames having vertical recesses therein, removable panels having opposed edges thereof engaged within said recesses and whose adjacent edges engage the intermediate stile, an elongated bracket removably supported on said stile and being of generally U-form in cross section, said bracket having legs engaged with the stile and lips extending at right angles to the legs engaged with the adjacent edges of said panels for holding same in engagement with the stile, and means on said bracket intermediate said lips for supporting the adjacent edge of a shelf.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 403,168 Wood May 14, 1889 469,542 Clapp Feb. 23, 1892 555,097 Hurd Feb. 25, 1896 617,164 Jewett Ian. 3, 1899 741,524 Miller Oct. 13, 1903 753,678 Dannenberg Mar. 1, 1904 862,128 Belcher Aug. 6, 1907 1,199,893 Herrmann Oct. 3, 1916 1,401,041 Chippereld Dec. 20, 1921 1,734,407 Taussig Nov. 5, 1929 A2,065,133 Heppenstall Dec. 22, 1936 2,375,726 Bales May 8, 1945 2,483,769 Hickey Oct. 4, 1949 

